But the story of those ten years, the actual day-to-day grind that turned Marcus from too poor to a $2.8 million cash buyer, deserves deeper examination. Because what Marcus did was not heroic or glamorous. It was brutal, exhausting, and nearly broke him multiple times.
Year one, 2014. The crushing beginning. Marcus started farming in May 2014, after the credit rejection. He bought the 1968 International 856 for $4,200 and spent three weeks getting it operational, evenings and weekends, while still working construction full-time. His schedule was wake at 4:45 a.m., leave for the construction site at 5:30, work construction from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., drive to the farm, work the farm from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., home by 9:30, eat, sleep, repeat. Weekends he farmed from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Total work hours per week: construction, forty-five hours; farming, thirty-five hours; total, eighty hours. His daughter, Mia, was three months old. He saw her maybe thirty minutes a day. His wife, Amy, worked three twelve-hour night shifts a week as an ER nurse, slept four hours, and cared for Mia during the day. Their combined sleep average was Marcus at five hours a night, Amy at four hours on work nights and six on non-work nights.
In June 2014, Marcus’s 856 broke down during planting. Hydraulic failure. The tractor was forty-six years old. Things broke. Marcus could not afford a mechanic at $85 an hour, so he spent four days diagnosing the problem, two days sourcing parts, and three days installing them himself. He lost a week of planting. That week cost him approximately eighteen acres of optimal planting window, probably fifteen to twenty bushels an acre in yield loss. Lost income, roughly $2,200. Marcus cried that week. He sat in his truck at 10:00 p.m., after finally getting the 856 running again, and called his wife. “Amy, I don’t know if I can do this. We’re barely surviving. I’m never home. Mia doesn’t know me. And Steve Patterson was probably right. Maybe I should find a different career.” Amy said, “You can quit. I’ll support whatever you decide. But I know you. You don’t quit. Finish this year, then decide.” Marcus finished. He grossed $41,000, netted $8,400 after rent and all expenses, saved it all, and added it to his remaining construction savings. Total savings, $27,200. Not much. But it was something.
Year two, 2015. The expansion gamble. Marcus rented an additional 160 acres in 2015, now farming 400 acres with one tractor and borrowed equipment. His construction job gave him a $2,800 raise. His farming grossed $64,000 and netted $14,800. He saved $14,800 from farming plus $7,600 from construction overtime, $22,400 total. Running savings, $49,600. But 2015 was the year Marcus’s marriage almost collapsed.
In August, Amy confronted him. “Marcus, you’ve been home for dinner twice in three months. Mia asks where Daddy is every night. I tell her you’re working, but she’s fifteen months old. She doesn’t understand. She just knows you’re gone. And I’m exhausted. Working nights, caring for a toddler during the day, sleeping four hours. I can’t do this much longer.” Marcus knew she was right. “What do you want me to do? Quit farming? Quit construction? We need both incomes to save.” “I don’t know what I want. I just know this isn’t sustainable.” They almost split that month. They decided to try counseling. The counselor asked how long they were willing to live like this. Marcus said, “Five more years. By 2020, I’ll either have enough to farm full-time and quit construction, or I’ll admit it’s not working and quit farming.” Amy agreed. Five years. 2020. Then they would reevaluate. That deadline, 2020, became their light at the end of the tunnel.
Year three, 2016. The first major purchase. By the end of 2015, Marcus had $49,600 saved. Corn prices were okay. He farmed 400 acres, grossed $68,200, and netted $18,400. Construction overtime added $6,800. Total saved in 2016, $25,200. Running total, $74,800. In December 2016, a bankruptcy auction listed a 1974 John Deere 4430. Marcus attended. The tractor had 8,200 hours, needed minor work, but was solid. Bidding started at $6,000. Marcus bid $11,800 and won it. Now he had two tractors. He could farm more efficiently. He could expand further if the opportunity came. His neighbors noticed. Marcus bought a second tractor. He was serious about this farming thing. But they also noticed Marcus looked terrible. He had lost twenty pounds. He was gray at thirty. He worked himself to death. Marcus was aware. He had gone from 185 pounds to 164. He had stress headaches three times a week. His doctor warned him about blood pressure. Marcus ignored it. I’ll rest in 2020.
Year four, 2017. The breaking point. In May 2017, Marcus’s mother was diagnosed with cancer. Stage three ovarian. She needed immediate treatment. Marcus’s father had died in 2009. His mother had limited insurance. Treatment would cost $84,000 over two years. Marcus had $74,800 saved. He faced a choice. Use savings for his mother’s treatment, or let her go into debt and declare bankruptcy for medical costs. He chose family. He gave his mother $40,000 from savings and kept $34,800 for farming. Amy supported it. “She’s your mother. We’ll rebuild the savings.” Marcus worked even harder. He added a fourth and fifth day of construction overtime, now working eighty-five to ninety hours a week, farming 400 acres. He grossed $71,400, netted $22,600, and construction overtime added $8,200. Total saved, $30,800. Running savings, $65,600, after the $40,000 medical gift. His mother survived. Treatment worked. By 2019, she was cancer-free. She tried to repay Marcus. He refused. “Mom, you raised me. You paid for everything growing up. This is my turn.” She cried and told him, “You’re working yourself to death for me and for your dream. Please don’t die trying to prove something.” “I’m not dying. I’m building.”
Year five, 2018. The opportunity. In 2018, an older farmer Marcus rented from, Herman Price, age seventy-four, offered to sell Marcus 160 acres. Price, $2,840 an acre. $454,400 total. Below market. Herman wanted Marcus to have it, because you work harder than anyone I’ve ever seen. Marcus had $65,600 saved. He needed $454,400. Even if he put all his savings down, he would need to finance the rest. Banks might not approve that. But Marcus applied. His loan officer looked at his history. Construction job for seven years. Farming for four years. Consistent income. Zero debt. Savings. Purchasing land below market value. Approved. $454,400. About $65,600 down. Finance the rest at 5.2 percent over twenty years. Monthly payment, $2,620. A high payment. But owning land changed everything. Banks would lend to landowners. Equipment dealers would extend credit to landowners. Marcus had collateral. He bought the 160 acres in November 2018. Now he owned land. His farming operation netted $26,800 in 2018. Construction, $9,400. The cash went to costs and the down payment, so running savings stayed low. But his equity in the land was building. That mattered more than cash.